Rayagada is a mineral-rich district in the southern part of the state of Odisha, in India. The city Rayagada is its headquarters. Rayagada district got the status of a separate district with effect from 2 October 1992.[1] The population of this district consists mainly of tribals. The Kondhas or Kondhs form the majority of population followed by Souras. Apart from Odia , several adivasi languages like Kui, Kondha, Soura are spoken by the indigenous population of the district.

The District occupies a total area of 7,584.7 km2. Rayagada is divided into eleven blocks.

The district generates income mainly through agriculture based activities. Paddy, wheat, ragi, green gram, black gram, groundnut, sweet potato and maize are the major crops grown in the area.

During the rule of Gangavansi and Suryavanshi Kings in Odisha, it was under feudatory chief of Kalinga-Utkala empire Dadarnab Dev of Gudari Kataka[4] This region went to the Bahamanis when the last HinduGajapati emperor of Odisha, Mukund Dev was defeated at Gohera Tikiri in 1519. It came under the Nandapur Kingdom for 47 years. Biswambar Dev was defeated and killed by Hasin Khan of Mughal Chicacole Sarkar rulers of Odisha,was perhaps the third king installed at Rayagada.

The Sati Kunda Goddess Majhi Ghairani and the mudfort around it speaks much about its evidence. In subsequent years it was under Bobbili Tahasil of Vijayanagaram. During the English regime, Rayagada came under Jeypore administration and later was part of Koraput District. As part of the extension plan of districts in Odisha state, On 2 October 1992 Rayagda District was carved out of the erstwhile Koraput district.

For the past six decades, Rayagada has seen institutions like IMFA, JKPAPER mills enriching the economy.

Rayagada has a great mineral source, with full of bauxite, silicon. According to a survey India has 56% of total bauxite storage of the world out of which Odisha has 62%. Out of that Rayagada has an 84% share. Depending on this, other industries like Birla, L&T, Sterlite showed an interest in Rayagada.

Rayagada is a destination for hotel industry: Hotels like Sai International, Jyotimahal, Vamsikrishna, Tejaswini, Kapilas, Raj Bhawan are a step ahead in this.

Other industries like Jeypore Sugars Ltd., ferro manganese were supplementing economy of Rayagada, but due to shortage in supply these were closed. The jeypore sugars was established by the British which attracted loads of people from nearby states to Rayagada. The industrial atmosphere, great location and availability of resources around made Rayagada a prominent town in Odisha.

Rayagada railway station is an important station from where direct trains to Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jamshedpur, Jodhpur, New Delhi other large cities can be boarded. Gunupur is also an important railway station in the district . Gunupur via Parlakhemundi is connected to Naupada railway junction on the main East Coast railway line from Kolkatta to Chennai by 90 km long 1676mm broad gauge that was converted from 762mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge in 2011 under Project Unigauge. The narrow gauge line called Paralakhemedi Light Railway (PLR) was established by Gajpatirajas of Paralakhemundi, the erstwhile Raja of Paralakhemedi. The Raja of Paralakhemedi decided to connect his capital with Naupada, which was only 40 km away. With the government giving sanction in 1898, work began in full earnest. The line was opened to traffic in 1900. This railway line was built at a cost of Rs 7 lakh. The Kimedi country, consisting of Paralakhemedi, Paddakimedi and Chinna Kimedi, was under a single ruler till 1607. Paralakhemedi came under British influence in 1768.

East Coast Railway came into existence in the year 1893 with the construction of the Cuttack-Khurda Road-Puri line, covering a distance of 96 km and its subsequent link along the East Coast up to Vijayawada — the junction point of Southern Maratha Railway and Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway. As a result, a stretch of 1280 km of East Coast Railway, covering the entire coastal stretch of Cuttack, Khurda Road, Puri, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, was opened for traffic between 1893 and 1896. East Coast Railway brought rail line to Naupada in 1894.

Due to a change in the policy of the British Government, the Bengal Nagpur Railway, popularly known as the B.N.R, took over the northern section of East Coast Railway from Vizianagaram to Cuttack, including the Branch Line of Puri, by 23-01-1902. Accordingly, the working of the PLR was taken over by the Bengal-Nagpur Railway in 1902. In the first few years, the PLR had incurred losses but after 1910, it started making marginal profits and after 1924-25, the profits increased. This motivated the Raja to extend the line to Gunupur in two phases in 1929 and 1931. There were now a total of ten stations between Naupada and Gunupur. Tekkali, Paddasan, Temburu, Ganguvada, Patapatnam, Paralakhemedi, Kashinagar, Lihuri, Bansidhara and Palasingi.

The management of BNR was taken over by the Government of India in October 1944. On 14-04-1952, at the time of the re-grouping of the Indian Railways it became part of the Eastern Railway. The merger of B.N.R. into Eastern Railway, however, did not last long and on 01-08-1955 it was merged with newly constituted South Eastern Railway. During the SER centenary celebrations in 1987, set of four postage stamps were released. One of the stamps featured the PL 691 locomotive.

The standard type of locomotive on PLR was the 20 ton 0-6-4 tank locomotive with small (27 inch diameter) coupled wheels and an axle load of only 4.75 tons. …

The foundation-stone was finally laid for the Naupada-Gunupur gauge conversion work at Naupada on September 27, 2002. With effect from April 1, 2003, PLR became a part of the newly formed East Coast Railway. The line was finally closed for gauge conversion on June 9, 2004.

Khurda-Bolangir new 290 km long broad gauge railway line was sanctioned in 1995 but hardly half of the work has been completed. RTc depoits -03 ; Railway stations - 15

The district has a predominant tribal population of 57.52%. All the 11 blocks of the district have been covered under tribal sub-plan with three micro projects in operation for the pre-literate indigenous tribal communities.

The topography of Rayagada gives a prefect platform for the tribals in sustaining their ethno-cultural identity in the district. Forest area covers an extent of 4785.36 km2 out of which 777.27 km² is Reserved forest.

The district has been the homeland of various tribal communities with their sub-tribes, who are found in different levels of development depending upon their assimilation with the mainstream or modern communities. In the ethno-cultural map of Odisha, two tribes stand out quite prominently for their education backwardness and continuing ethnic and cultural identity, the Kondhas and the Souras.

The primitive Kondhs who are divided into Desia Kondhs, Kutia Kondhs and Dongria Kondhs are nature worshippers. The reigning deity of the Desia Kondhs is Baphlai Budhi, who stays on the Baphliamali mountain. The Budhi is regarded by Desia Kondhs as the heart of the Kondh cosmology.

Rayagada, the district of many charms, is a thrill to the searching eyes. It has the facilities to serve as a base for visiting the nearby place of interest.

Maa Majhighariani Temple is famous in Southern Division of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.[citation needed] Most of the devotees come from Madhya Pradesh Chhatishgarh, Andhra Pradesh including undivided Koraput District. Only the face of the "MajhiGhariani" is worshiped. During Sunday, Wednesday and Friday a large number of devotees come to worship the Goddess. The temple is famous for Chaitra-Parva, i.e., March–April of every year.

Maa Mangla Maa Temple lies in the Raniguda area of Rayagada.it is near the hathipatter

Hatipathar is only 3 km from the district headquarters. It is a place of great scenic beauty with two waterfalls on the course of river Nagavali. The scenic beauty is impressive and the boulders here appear like huge elephants. Visitor are not welcome after heavy rains in 2006 changed the course of the Nagavali.

Sri Jagannath Temple, Rayagada:The lord jagarnnath temple is located at the daily market of Rayagada it's not so far from Maa Majhi Ghariani Temple

Gayatri Temple at MITS College: A beautiful temple with Goddess Maa Gayatri, Saraswati and Maa Majhighariani. Engineering students do meditation and pooja after their studies in the temple. Lot of devotees come to the temple regularly. A Spiritual Library is present under the temple ground floor. Lot of books on Indian culture are there.

Paikapada is famous for so many Siva Lingams. The deities like Lord Jagannath, Maa Dhakineswar Kalika, Samudra, etc. are worshiped here. The car festival of Lord Jagannath is also celebrated. During Sivaratri a large number of pilgrims come to observe the function. The place is near Theruballi. It is believed that there are 99,99,999 shivlingams (only one less than 1 crore) in and around Paikapada shrine.

Chatikona is located about 48 km from Rayagada surrounded by a series of valleys and wooded hills of varying colours and the place is a center of pilgrimage for the temple of Mahadev. It offers picnickers gorgeous view of the waterfall. The Siva temple is the focus of hectic activities on Siva Ratri. The Dongaria Kondha of Chatikona represent the primitive section of the tribe.

Minajhola is only 134 km from Rayagada. It is a beauty spot of nature, has a siva temple at the confluence of three rivers. It is situated in the heart of dense forest, rich in wildlife. Sivaratri is a popular festival of this place. Though there is no good all-weather road yet, the place is worth visiting. Regular bus service is available from Rayagada and Gunupur up to Gudari. The rest 25 km road is Jeepable.

Kalyan Singpur: The Devagiri hill rises to a height of 120.2 meters. Unlike other hills it is not narrower upwards. The top of the hill is a flat platform of rectangular plain, which can be approached only from the northern side. There are 476 steps which are the unique feature of the Devagiri. At the top of the hill, there are perennial poles of water called Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati, Bhargavi and Indradyumna. There is a cave looking like two jaws. The Siva Lingam is enshrined at the meeting point of the jaws. Sivaratri is its biggest festival, which draws a large crowd every year. It is 50 km from Rayagada. Regular bus services are available from Rayagada to Kalyansingpur and the sacred hill is close to Kalyansingpur.

Kumudabali: Balunkeswar Temple on the river banks of the Vamsadhara River is worth visiting for its rocky river scenery, It is also an attraction to picnicers for its rocky river. Kumudabali is well connected by road to the nearest railway station Muniguda.

Padmapur houses the shrine of Manikeswari Siva. It is identified to be the seat of Dharmakirti, the Buddhist-Logician-philosopher. It is a 7th-century temple. It is 90 km from Rayagada.

Gayatri Temple at Padampur is a beautiful temple with Goddess Maa PanchMukhi-Gayatri, Maa durga and Maa Mahalakshmi. The temple is famous for Saraswati Puja Sri panchami in January–February. It is 90 km from Rayagada.

Maa Markama Temple is located at Bissam Cuttack, 40 km from Rayagada. The temple got a new look and surrounded by lush green forest. Many people visit from near and far especially on Tuesdays. The town college has also been named after Goddess Markama.

GUMA GHATI: it is about 20 km from rayagada it is souranding by dence forest n very good place to see . many citizen come here for picnik . a small water fall also here

RAYGADA KORAPUT RAILWAY LINE: the distance from rayagada to koraput is about 176 km. this route is full of adventure since there are 36 tunnels and about 250 bridges fall in this route. this route is like konkan railway route and one can see animals while this journey. the koraput distinct is situated at the height of 870 meters above the sea level.

According to Linga Puran, Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur is around 100 km from Rayagada and around 30 km from Gunupur is one of the Jyotirling, situated at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya (which is also believed as the Daakini area by many historian), was excavated in 1974, having quadrangular Shakti around the Linga and decorated by a Upavita as per the puran.[citation needed]

Rayagada is well known for its contribution to Odia literature. There are number of cultural magazines continuously published from Ryagada. Prominent writers of this district are sarbo sri Damborudhar Patnaik, Dr Dusmonta kumar Mohanty, Dr Kumudo ch. Mishra, Sibo Prasad Gantayat, Satyanarayan Gantayat, Basudev patro, Susant Nayak, Dwitichandra Sahu, Ram Krushna Pattnik, Kishor Mohapatro, Golok Dolai, Pratibha Dash, Pratibha mishra, Prakesh Mohapatro, Parth Sarathi Barik, etc. Of late, Smt Bidulata Huika, a noted tribal woman leader of the state and Sri Badal kumar Tah, a senior journalist and a social worker have jointly compiled two books on tribals namely "Sampratika Paristhitire Adibasi-Tribals in present context" and "Adibasira Astitwo-Identity of Tribals". Many of the articles in these two anthologies were published in the vernacular daily news papers. Bidulata has also written a book on KUI tribal language named"Wadu Japina-Come to read" for pre-primary and primary school children and a book called "Maa Gadhiba Gaon-Mother will build the village". She has been awarded by the Chief Minister of Odisha and many other institutions for her literary endeavour.

The Odia magazine The Jyotshna is known as the cultural mouthpiece of Rayagada. The magazine has been published since 1972. At first Jyotshna was published from Sunabeda of undivided Koraput district. Its founder is shri Basudev Patro and editor is smt Santilata Patro. Patro has written a number of short stories, poems, novels, sonnets, which brought critic's attention. His poem collection Konark has received a great deal of accolade from the Oriya readers. Now Konark is going to be published in English.

There are magazines like Panchaboti, Rayagada Samachar, AKASH, Green Room, etc. which enriched the cultural aspect of Rayagada. One of the editor of the Oriya magazine the SARVADOYO published from Cuttack's Bakhorabad Sri BHAGBAT PRASAD RATH hails from Rayagada Town. Sri B.P.Rath has written a number of novels in Oriya, like LUHORO MOSAL KEBE LIVENA, MONISO TOLE KANONO GOLE and in each and every novel he has emphasized on removal of social disparity. Sri B.P.Rath is facilitated by a number of organizations of India. In the 1980s the magazines published by sri B.P. Rath, like Green Room has revolutionised the literary environment. Other notable names in the literary circles is Bh. Nageswara Rao. BH.V.Nageswar Rao has published innunerable articles in English and Telugu. His book entitled "Insights into the Law of Karma" is published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan under their Book University Series. He also delivers pravacahams on Ramayana, Bhagavata, etc. He delivered speeches on Tiruppavai on behalf of Alwar Divya Prabandha Project, Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati.

Rayagada college imparts education at +2 and +3 levels for Science, Arts and Commerce stream. Women's college imparts education in +2 Science/Arts and Commerce. But at +3 level it imparts education for Arts stream only. State governments' diploma engineering college known as UTKAL GOURAB MADHUSUDAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (UGMIT) is present near by river Nagavali and imparts diploma courses in several branches of engineering.

Also the area has seen a rise in engineering colleges which apart from B.Tech in Engineering also have facilities for MCA, MBA, M.Tech and Bio-Technology courses.

MITS Rayagada (www.mitscollege.ac.in) established in 1997 under the management of Basantadevi Charitable Trust. MITS has developed into a sprawling campus of 50 acres (200,000 m2) in a picturesque location at Bhujbal, adjoining the State Highway No. 4 between Jeypore and Bhubaneswar. It drew its name from the Goddess Maghighariani, the reigning deity of Rayagada. This institute is part of MITS Group (www.mitsgroup.co.in)[2] conglomerate of academic institutes, independent research laboratories and companies. The focus of the group is to have a synergy between its education, research and industry sector. Provides degree of M-tech, B-tech, MSc, BSc, BCA, ITI & Diploma courses to students all over the country. This is the first college in India to provide B-Tech in Bio-Technology apart from few IITs. The Bio-Technology Lab of MITS is best in class. MITS School of Bio-Technology (www.msb.ac.in) ([3]) is another college at Infosity, Bhubaneswar of the same MITS Group.

GIACR: Gandhi Institute of Advanced Computer and Research another engineering college has given credibility to the education system in more than one ways. GIACR has produced young talents for the IT sector of India and world. Mr. P.Dinakar and Mr. P.C Mishra has made it a premier organisation in Odisha. It draws the attraction of some global tech. giants like TCS, INFOSYS,WIPRO for their recruitment process.

GIST: A sister organisation of well known "Gandhi group" has successfully completed its one year in the field of engineering teaching. It is also another step taken by the "Gandhi group" for improving the education in Rayagada.

CTTC: Central tool room and training centre, a Government of India institute under MSME is forwarding in the field of engineering targeting the weeker section. CTTC with its unique course structure changing the unskilled and semi-skilled persons as skilled one and self-reliance as well. At the same time the high end course like MCC is producing perfect designers for future INDIA.

Centre for World Education Service, Rayagada is an Educational registered under Indian Society Act. Serving for diversified field of development in KBK District situated in Rayagada District renders sincere ungrudging service to the people and has made honest effort for academic improvement of different section of society. Though located in a backward district of Odisha there is the dawn of new such of prospectus looming large over its horizon. Rapid industrialization is taking place in the area. But the students and employees are not fit to cope with need challenging jobs causing under industrial sector.

Having establish and supported by high-level learned persons of India and Abroad CWES has its own credential in education sector providing quality service to the un-reached with an expose to international standards. CWES is an affiliate institute as Bharathiar University as Spot Admission and learning Centre for Odisha. CWES offers many professional courses such as MBA, MCA, PGDCA, M.Sc. Physics, M.Sc. Chemistry, M.Sc.Bio information, M.Sc.Environment Sc., B.Sc.IT, B.Sc.Computer. Sc., BCA, BBA, BBM, B.Sc.Maths., M.sc.Maths. CWES is quite popular as a language learning centre for English and German languages.

In addition to these, institutions like DATAPRO, TCIL are well known for their contribution toward computer education.